


By the River

by Leef



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Other stuff I am too tired to type, Smoking, Teenage AU, college kid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 23:53:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19328650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leef/pseuds/Leef
Summary: Carl is the nice kid, the Sherrif's son. Until Enid takes him with her to finally live a little bit.





	By the River

**Author's Note:**

> This is not beta read, I am no native speaker and basically it's just smut (mainly in the second chapter, though). I hope this fandom isn't dead yet. Enjoy!

It was Carl’s first time here. He was sure his dad would kill him if he knew, but as long as he didn’t there wasn’t any harm done, right? At least that was what he tried to convince himself of – along with Enid’s help and a bottle of cheap wine she had shared with him before they had started to walk toward the gathering.

Carl remembered his dad talking about ‘those delinquent kids’, as he called them, hanging out around the meadows close to the river. He remembered Shane reminding Rick that it’s just kids having fun, that kids need to do that, that it’s part of growing up. That they hadn’t been any different. With a laugh Shane had added that at least _he_ hadn’t been any different. Carl recalled his dad’s tiny smile and that he had had no problem imagining his godfather walking the same tiny paths to this forbidden place that he was now.

He followed Enid over a small stone bridge that lead them to a small patch of trees, and he could already hear the faint sound of music playing and people talking. He felt tipsy and being the clumsy kind of person that he was he tripped not only once. Which in turn got Enid giggling at him.

“Careful, don’t make me regret taking you with me.”

Carl couldn’t see her face in the dark, but he saw her turning around to warn him, obviously amused. He wondered how she could find her way through the pitch-black darkness with graceful ease while he could only find his way stumbling and cursing.

He was sure he stepped into stinging nettles two or three times, but he was too drunk and nervous to care. The stinging was only a faint sensation and he surely did no longer feel it the moment they stepped out of the greenery that was in fact nothing more than a grey and black shadow looming around them. The moment they stepped out onto it, he saw cars parked, he saw people sitting around a campfire, people sitting in cars, kissing, making out - only god knew what exactly they did. Enid had stopped to turn around to him once more, the glow of the fire illuminating the smooth skin of her face that was a little shiny from the humid summer air. She was grinning at him, opening her arms wide as if all this belonged to her – which wasn’t wrong for she went her regularly and Carl had only recently been brave enough to take her up on one of her countless invitations to join.

“This, Carl, is what being a teenager should be like. C’mon!”

She turned around in a smooth motion and Carl once more envied her for the graceful way she could move her body, so lightly and without any apparent difficulty. She even managed to pull another bottle of wine out of her bag before she reached the circle of people sitting around the fire. Carl only followed reluctantly, hoping she would do the introducing for him. Did people do that in a place like this anyway? Introducing their friends? Would anyone be sober enough to even remember his name or face? He couldn’t tell. He really couldn’t tell.

Enid kissed a few girls on the mouth, hugging others, bumping fists with a few males.

“Guys, this is Carl. You know, the best nerd friend I kept telling you about?”

Carl felt his cheeks burn hot, not having known until this moment that Enid even talked about him to others, especially not as her best friend. People tended to not talk about him, and if they did, it certainly wasn’t in a positive light. Nerd, weirdo, sheriff’s kid.

He managed a small wave, receiving a few in return. Then there were bodies shuffling to make room for the two newcomers, tiny smiles that were directed at him and he felt some of the nervousness fall off him. Still, he took two huge gulps from the bottle of wine that was offered to shake the remaining uneasy feeling. At least it couldn’t harm to adjust his blood alcohol concentration to the prevailing one.

He admired Enid’s way of talking to people, as if she didn’t care what people thought about her, opposing statements she didn’t agree with, standing her ground, but at the same time joking and laughing with people. It was no wonder people liked her.

A guy next to him – Noah his name was, Carl thought – offered him another bottle and Carl took it, riding on a high of this completely foreign feeling of freedom.

“It’s whiskey,” he warned, though Carl couldn’t really place this statement until he took a far too generous sip, immediately choking on the burning liquid. He gave Noah a look of utter betrayal that got the good-looking male to chuckle at him, snatching the bottle back from him.

“Have warned you, ma dude.”

“How can you drink this?” he asked in bewilderment upon seeing him taking sips without frowning, handing the bottle to a girl next to him who could do the same. When he turned back to Carl, all he offered was a shrug.

“Training, I guess.” Then another grin. “You don’t drink very often, huh?”

Carl felt his cheeks getting hot again, though this time he wasn’t even sure whether it was because of the warmth of the fire, the alcohol in his bloodstream, or the embarrassment to be called out on that fact so easily. He managed a shake of his head and before he could offer a few words, he felt a weight pressing against his back and arms wrapping around his torso. He smelt Enid’s flowery shampoo or conditioner – he wasn’t sure which, though, only that it was _her_ smell.

“Isn’t that obvious? Little Carl her needs to learn all this. He needs to learn to _live_.”

Carl loved the way she said that, not a single hint of making fun of him, only the honest wish to show him a part of life that wasn’t studying for school or helping out at the station or spending time with his baby sister.

“If that’s so…”

Carl leaned against Enid who was still pressed against his back. He could feel her soft breasts cushioning his shoulder blades.

“Don’t tell me you have some…”

Carl had no idea what they were talking about, but Noah was grinning wide as he reached into the pocket of his jacket.

“Of course, I do. _Living_ , right?”

Enid untangled her arms from around Carl which made him a bit sad that the closeness was already over. She moved over, the three of them now forming a small triangle while the party around them went on. Carl liked the sound of the fire, the talks around them, the laughter and the _System of a Down_ songs blaring from one of the cars, others complaining about the choice of music. He found himself smiling absentmindedly.

“You do first, Milady.”

Noah offered her a cigarette in his outstretched palm in an overdramatic way – bow and all. Enid, in turn, took it no less exaggeratedly. Maybe they were both part of a drama group.

“My deepest thanks, dearest Noah.”

She laughed a warm laugh before putting the thing between her lips and lighting it with Noah’s offered lighter. Carl chuckled at the bright pink color of it. He watched Enid puffing, visibly pleased and rapidly relaxing. She had her eyes closed, breathing out only after a couple of seconds. Her eyes were looking amazing with the fire reflecting in them when she finally looked at him again.

“I know you don’t smoke, but you need to make an exception here.”

Carl hated smoking, couldn’t stand the smell whenever Shane smoked on their porch, or when his dad smoked once a year on Christmas – a tradition, he insisted. But he trusted his best friend. And wasn’t this the whole point of joining her tonight? To do things he normally didn’t do? Plus, the smell wasn’t as disgusting as Shane’s cigarettes but so much sweeter and more pleasant.

He felt clumsy lifting the cigarette to his lips, convincing himself that it couldn’t be that hard. He had seen it a thousand times – in movies, in their garden, while spending time with Enid. He knew how these things worked. In theory. But all that was in no way any preparation for the sensation he felt upon inhaling. It choked him and made his body cramp and relax at the same time. He fought the urge to cough, but in the end couldn’t keep himself from it. Noah took the joint from him, laughing, and Enid slapping his back to help his coughing. That definitely wasn’t tabaco but weed.

“Easy there. You have to go slow on this.”

Carl just gave her an awful look but already felt himself relax more and more. Now his dad would _definitely_ kill him. Getting drunk was one thing, maybe smoking he would have tolerated, but doing drugs Carl was sure was a total no-go. But to his own surprise he didn’t care anymore. He felt good, he knew this was exactly the place he wanted to be right now, and he didn’t want to waste another useless thought to what his dad or mom or even Shane would say to it. He was an adult – or at least so close he could already feel it – and he would enjoy the hell out of this foreign feeling of freedom.

“This is awful,” he finally said, drinking some more of the wine Enid offered, giving her a crooked smile, “gimme another drag, though,” he exclaimed towards Noah who was making perfect rings of smoke into the night air.

Noah smiled at him and gave the joint back. His eyes were dark and beautiful, and gave away his high, a bit glassy but still vivid in their own way. And Carl, too, was high on all the things he had missed out during his early teen years.

The second attempt was much better, and Carl closed his eyes to cherish the feeling flooding his body. He didn’t notice Enid taking the joint again and passing it on to one of her girlfriends. Noah was the first one to lay down on the grass, followed by Enid and then Carl. He could smell the dry soil and the murky river somewhere behind them. Unseen, but there without a doubt.

“You know, Noah here has a thing for brunettes.”

Carl moved his head to face Enid. How much time had passed he could not say, only that everything felt somewhat slow but also incredibly funny. He giggled.

“Has he now?”

“I do.”

Noah was propped on one of his elbows, looking at Carl, ignoring Enid between them.

“And I am sure he would love to kiss you. Like, right now.”

Enid’s chuckle was contaminating, and Carl moved his gaze from her delicate face to Noah’s.

“I would.”

“Then why doesn’t he do it?” Carl asked half-jokingly. Everything seemed like a joke right now, but he would be lying if he said he wouldn’t like it. He didn’t think Noah would do it, but suddenly there was a figure above him, legs to either side of his body, and a head bowing down, searching for his lips and, eventually, finding them.

Carl hadn’t really kissed anyone before. Enid, yes, but that shouldn’t count. She was his best friend and both of them had been thirteen or something. It had been that cloudy midsummer day that had led him to the conclusion he didn’t like girl’s lips or bodies all that much. That he liked them for their beautiful features but that it was nothing he wanted on an intimate level. It was more the things he envied them for – the soft curves where he was only straight lines and edges, the huge eyes and long lashes, the elegant legs where he had only knobby knees and too big feet He had told her so back then, and she had shrugged, as if was the most normal thing. _Okay_ , she had said, _then I will help you find a man if you want one. That’s what friends do._

Was this the day he would finally keep her promise? It seemed like it, and Carl had no complains to make. He opened his lips only slightly and was gifted with a warm, slick tongue gliding in his mouth. He was sure he made some weird noises, but the music had gotten louder, so probably no one heard beside Noah and himself.

He liked Noah already, despite having only met him, liked the way he was sitting behind him now, his arms wrapped around his middle, his firm chest behind his back; Noah, burying his nose in his hair every now and then. Enid had gone off somewhere, while Carl and Noah had sat down a little bit farther away from the fire. They talked, they smoked a few cigarettes and had emptied another bottle of wine that Noah had snatched from some guy he seemed to know. An exchange – cigarettes for wine, Carl assumed.

He wished this night wouldn’t end.

Then there was a roar and two motorbikes entered the scene. Carl was curious and tried to look what was going on. He saw two figured walking towards the fire, pulling helmets from their heads. They wore leather jackets and maybe that was the thing that made them look older than the majority of kids gathered here.

“Negan and Simon decided to join us. What an honor.”

“Who are they?”

Carl observed people not paying attention to the newcomers, but a few coming to great them. Fist bumps, hugs, offered beer and smokes.

“Some older guys. Seniors at GSU. They are cool guys.”

Carl only nodded at that and his eyes lingered on the taller one of them. He knew there were older kids here, not high schoolers like Enid and he were, but also some college kids, like Noah. Still, those two looked far older than most. It was thrilling.

One of them, the one with the ridiculous mustache joined a few pretty girls, wasting no time in flirting and kissing them, joking loudly. Carl admired him the same way he admired Enid for all the same reasons when it came to social skills. The other one sat down close to Noah, handing over a second beer he had taken from some guy.

“You still owe me 50 bucks.”

Noah reached into his pocket and took some bills out of it, handing it over to either Simon or Negan, Carl wasn’t sure who was who.

“Here. You good?”

“As always. You know these are just 20?”

Carl couldn’t place the tone, but Noah shrugged, so he guessed it wasn’t too much of a big deal. Just a small friendly banter.

“And you also know your date’s staring at me with his mouth hanging open?”

It took Carl a moment to realize that he was meant by that and that he really was staring like an idiot. Noah just laughed it off, and Carl could feel the vibration of it in his back for he was still leaning against him.

“Really, Carl? You’ll ditch me for this old bastard?”

“Carl,” his voice was deep and vibrant and charming, “I am definitely the better choice here. ‘ve got a whole lot more experience than good ol’ Noah here.”

Carl wasn’t sure how to react to that perfect dimpled grin he received from him. He only knew he liked the kind of attention he got in this moment. He felt greedy and needy because everything was exciting here, and because he had never experienced anything like it before. Not outside his daydreams, at least. He couldn’t believe he had received his first kiss only hours ago and was already craving for more; for more touches, more kisses, for more from more than just Noah.

“Negan’s probably not wrong with that.”

Carl craned his neck to see Enid having joined them, letting herself sit down next to them and receiving a warm hug from who seemed to be Negan, not Simon. The way she said that made Carl crawl. He knew Enid screwed around with a lot of people, but the thought of her screwing around with this Negan made him ache in a foreign way.

“It’s good to see you here, sweetie.”

There was a sudden feeling of envy again, but this time it was so much more intense. Not like his jealousy of her features, something he knew she couldn’t give him even if she wanted to. But now it was that Carl wanted to grab Enid’s shoulder and pull her from Negan’s warm hug – or better to not use her shoulder for it but to grab her hair like they did in bad TV shows. He must have leaned forward because Noah’s arms weren’t around him anymore.

“Everything’s okay, Carl? You feelin’ ill?”

Noah’s hand was on his back, rubbing soothing circles on it. He must think he’s too drunk, that he felt sick and was close to vomiting. He wasn’t too wrong with it. He met Enid’s eyes and she gave him the sweetest smile. Carl regretted feeling this hostile towards her and even more because he couldn’t control his feelings.

“Well, I think…” she began and looked from Noah to Negan and back to Carl, “I think it would be good to mention that Negan here has a thing for brunettes as well.”

Carl stared at her and this time he realized himself that his mouth was hanging open. He heard Noah laugh and Negan letting out a deep chuckle while lighting his cigarette.

“She’s not wrong with that.”

Negan leaned back and the way he licked his lips made Carl’s whole body tingle in an unfamiliar way.

Carl swallowed and looked at Noah, feeling as if he was betraying him in a way. But he just shrugged, said he knew Negan was so much more attractive than he was. “Not attractive _per se_ , but more tempting,” he said he guessed. He even gave him a tiny shove towards the biker. That got him by surprise, and he felt himself losing his balance but there as a hand on his upper arm – so much bigger than his arm - wrapped around it with ease. Enid was giggling and suddenly he found himself in between Negan’s legs, face to face with him, smelling beer and smoke, seeing white teeth that were illuminated by the fire – appearing more yellowish through it, actually – that was still burning not far from them.

“So, Carl… how about a kiss for me? I swear it’s worth it an’ you won’ regret a single thing.”

“Don’t you dare to disappoint.”

Wherever this sudden sass came from, it seemed to impress Negan. He lost his grin for a short moment, studying Carl’s face before he kissed him deep and possessively, the exact opposite to the way Noah had kissed him. And it made Carl want to engage, want to kiss back. He wrapped his arms around Negan, who, in return, wrapped an arm around Carl’s middle and pulled him closer. Somewhere in the background Carl heard Enid making wooing noises and someone playing SOAD again.

But what did he care? All of that was secondary. He wanted to kiss Negan more, to feel him more. Whatever Carl had waited for all evening – not that he had consciously been waiting for anything in particular – that thing was right in front of him, and it helped him climb on it, straddling it.

They parted to catch their breaths, a hand buried in Carl’s hair, pulling him away on it, getting a bit space between them so Negan could look at him again and take another drag from the barely smoked but still lit cigarette in his left hand. The slight pull on his hair shouldn’t turn him on the way it did.

“Guess I’ll fetch another beer.”

Was that Noah who got up and walked away? It must have been because Enid was still giggling close to them. But Carl didn’t care to turn around, all his clouded mind cared about was right in front of him – and under him, getting harder by the minute.

“Now, _did_ I disappoint?”

“Not sure yet.”

And anew they went for it, exchanging breathes, saliva, desire. Carl couldn’t keep himself from rocking against Negan, who in return groaned loudly into his mouth. It was the most divine thing Carl had ever heard. And it was him making Negan produce it. It was an unknown satisfaction that arose from that kind of control. It made him bury his fingers in the worn leather that was hiding Negan’s upper body from him. It was the only thing that kept him grounded. Otherwise, Carl was afraid, he would drift away.

“How would you like to go down to the river, beautiful?” Negan breathed into the few inches of air between their lips.

Was Carl sure what he meant by that? He guessed so, because Negan made sure to emphasize it by jerking his hips to meet Carl’s. Carl shuddered and closed his eyes for a moment, relishing the hotness under him and the soft, caressing hand in his hair.

“I’m not sure I can walk straight anymore.”

“Baby, _straight_ is the last thing I want you to do anything tonight.”

Negan’s voice was nothing more than a deep hum. Carl nodded and was lifted by Negan, was helped to stand up. Enid was no longer anywhere to be seen, there were fewer people around the fire now, but Carl could make Simon out, who was watching them. Carl didn’t know whether he couldn’t read his expression because he was too drunk or because Simon hid whatever it was very well.

There was a strong arm wrapped around him, pressing him to Negan’s body and leading him away from the fire. Carl’s belly was tingling. Was it nervousness or anticipation? Both? Did he care? Probably not.

It was dark, and Carl tripped a few times, which earned him a laugh from Negan, an occasional _careful_ and an even tighter embrace. God, Carl wanted to be held like this the whole night. No, it wasn’t something he wanted, it was something he _needed_ like he needed to breath. He wasn’t sure he could live without it.

“C’mere, babe.”

Negan sat down and pulled Carl with him, guiding him to straddle him again like before. But this time he had his hands on Carl’s ass, pressing him towards him, rubbing their crotches together.

“You tell me if you wanna stop, alright?”

Carl was kissed on his face and he almost wanted the rough, the raw kisses back. This was too nice, too intimate, too… innocent. Something he planned to lose tonight in any way. Carl hummed in content, but Negan demanded a verbal answer.

“Yes, yes I will.”

He was impatient, his dick hurt inside his too skinny jeans and he needed to feel flesh against flesh. He was on autopilot, driven by his desire to anyone’s body against his. 18 years were enough to wait for it, weren’t they?

“Now will you please grab my hair and kiss me?”

Was his voice slurred? He didn’t think so, but he knew he had a lot of alcohol in his system. So, it must be. But what did he care?

“Naughty…”

Then there was a hand tangled in his hair, pulling him back. It hurt, but it hurt the right way, the good way, and it sent shivers down his spine, letting his cock throb in his pants. Lips in his neck, a hand opening his jeans with far too little struggle. Now Carl was sure he moaned – he had never moaned before, every time he had touched himself, he had been silent. He thought himself to be a silent person, hadn’t thought himself capable of making such sounds in general but especially not in front of other people, but here he was, moaning like some girl in some dirty porn movie.

And then he inhaled sharply as he was touched for the first time by a hand that wasn’t his. It felt so much better than he thought it could. It was a ludicrously intense sensation and he had to grip Negan’s shoulders to not fall over.

“Fuck-“

“Mhm… that’s it, be noisy for me, will you? Love that shit.”

Carl managed to nod, to nod and to move against the hand that still held his hair in order to close the gap between them. He wanted to taste Negan once again. And granted a kiss he was. He probably should have touched Negan, too, but he just couldn’t bring his body to do anything besides feverishly moving against the warm hand down his pants, to seek as much selfish pleasure as he could. He held his eyes closed while he rocked against him and moaned the most blasphemous words and sounds in Negan’s ear.

But then Carl heard something, even with his hazy mind, even while riding yet another high tonight. He opened his heavy eyes. His head was resting on Negan’s shoulder, so that he could look over it, right behind Negan. He thought that maybe a dog was running by, though why should a dog be here in the middle of the night? Carl jerked back as soon as his mind began to work properly and to take in his surroundings better. There was a man standing in the dark, right behind Negan, watching them. Was it even a man? It was nothing more than a dark silhouette, and the alcohol and drugs in his system didn’t make it any easier to process. Carl tried to scramble backwards, but Negan had one arm around his waist and the other hand still in his pants, not budging even an inch. Carl tried to form words, to let Negan know that someone was standing right behind him, but he just couldn’t get a sound out. He couldn’t grasp why Negan wouldn’t let go of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave constructive feedback, also feel free to point out any errors, typos or to leave stylistic advice. All of it is highly appreciated.


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